Knitting needle



Jan. 27, 1953 P. J. SCHOENSTER 2,626,514

KNITTING NEEDLE Filed July 19, 1950 6D FIG. 8 59 FlG.9 FIG. 10

INVENTOR Fe zfer fifioensi'er Patented Jan. 27, 1953 UNITED STATE5 Ffir'iklid? FFICE KNITTING NEEDLE leter J. Schoenster, Teancck, N. 3., assignor to Alfred Hofmann Needle Works, Inc, West New York, N. J a corporation Application July 19, 1959, Serial Ne. 74,717

5 Claims.

This invention relates to knitting needles of the spring beard type which are used in full fashioned hosiery knitting machines and warp knitting machines.

Conventional spring beard needles are made of wire stock of circular cross section and comprise essentially, a shank portion which is flattened to provide rigidity therein, a grooved portion on the upper end of the shank portion, and a beard formed by a bent head, the beard tip being adapted to be flexed and received in the groove during the knitting operation to permit a formed loop to slide over the upper end of the needle as an incident to the loop form ng operation.

The cross section of the beard is smaller than that of the shank portion of the needle in order to allow the beard to be flexed more readily than the shank portion when the presser edge of the machine engages the beard. The beard is of circular or semi-circular cross section and flexes fairly satisfactorily in needles of coarse gauges. However, the force necessary to flex the beard may be of an order which will cause excessive wear of the presser edge in both warp and full fashioned hosiery knitting machines. As a result, the beards may be laterally deflected when flexed, causing excessive needle breakage. In the case of a full fashioned hosiery knitting machine, where the presser edge is an integral part of the machine sinker head, maintenance and replacement costs of the presser edge become quite substantial.

In conventional needle constructions, the beard apparently flexes from the bent head of the needle. Actually, the is quite rigid due to the structure thereof and the flexure of the beard at the press will involve distortions which are undesirable in the knitting operation.

Furthermore, the closure of the beard at the press, causes excessive deflection of the shank portion of the needle, which in turn is responsible for misalignment of the needles and a resultant poor quality knitted fabric. In order to avoid such deflection, it is usual to flatten the shank in order to increase the rigidity thereof and thereby resist deflection. However, with increased use of finer gauge needles, flattening the needle shanks becomes of lesser significance as a means for avoiding excessive needle deflection;

When it is attempted to further reduce the cross sectional dimensions of the beard relative to the cross sectional dimensions of the shank, there is a tendency for the beard to lose its unihead portion of the needle force necessary to efiect 2 directional flexure characteristic and to possibly flex laterally, thereby causing the beard tip to miss the shank groove and resulting in menders or broken beards.

In addition, the finer gauges of knit fabrics require needles of corresponding gauge which must be made from finer wire stocks. The flattening of the needle shanks made from such wire stocks may be controlled to provide varying degrees of rigidity, but as a whole, the resistance to the pressing of the beard is reduced and there is a greater tendency for flexure in the shank than occurs in the coarser gauge needles.

Accordingly, an object of this invention is to provide knitting needles of the spring beard type, wherein selected sectional portions of the needle are formed in a manner to provide predetermined flexure relations between the beard and shank portions of the needle.

Another object of this invention is to provide a knitting needle having portions thereof formed in a manner to insure unidirectional flexure of the beard when the same is pressed toward the grooved portion of the needle.

A further object of this invention is to provide a knitting needle wherein sectional portions of the beard and/or the shank adjacent the bent head are modified to reduce the force necessary to flex the beard during the pressing operation.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a knitting needle wherein sectional portions thereof are modified to attain predetermined flexure characteristics in the several portions oi the needle, such modifications being of a form and disposition which avoids a weakening of the needle structure.

Still a further obiect of this invention is to provide fine gauge knitting needles which are sectionally modified in a quick and economical manner by procedures well known in the metal working art and are adapted in use to produce fine gauge fabrics having a reduced incidence of defects caused by excessive flexure of the needle shanks or improper flexure of the needle beards.

Other objects of this invention Will in part be obvious and in part hereinafter pointed out.

The invention accordingly consists in the features of construction which will be exemplified in the embodiments hereinafter described, and of which the scope of invention will be indicated in the following claims. 7

In the accompanying drawing,- in which are shown illustrative forms of the invention: 7

Fig.- 1 is a side elevational view of a conven= tional knitting needle of the spring beard type;

Fig. 1A is an enlarged sectional view taken on the line AA of Fig. 1;

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view of the bent head portion of a needle embodying the invention; Fig. 2A is an enlarged sectional view taken on the line A-A of Fig.2;

Figs. 3, 4 are views similar to that of Fig. 2 and show modified forms of the invention; Figs. 3A, 4A are enlarged sectional views taken respectively on the lines A--A of Figs. 3, 4;

Figs. 5, 6 and '7 are views similar to that of Fig. 2 and show further modified forms of the invention; Figs. 5A, 6A, and 7A are enlarged sectional views taken on the lines AA respectively of Figs. 5, 6 and 7;

Figs. 8, 9 and 10 are bottom plan views of the needle beards shown respectively in Figs. 5, 6 and 7.

Referring in detail to the drawing, and particularly to Fig. 1, IO designates a conventional spring beard needle of the type used in full fashioned hosiery and warp knitting machines. The same is formed of wire stock of circular section and comprises a shank portion II having a butt I2 extending from one end thereof. The upper end I Ia of the shank portion is grooved as at I3. The needle further comprises a spring beard I4 which extends from a bent head I5. The beard includes the usual crimp I6 and terminates in a tip I! which is received in the groove I3 when the beard is flexed by the presser edge of the knitting machine.

The shank portion II of the needle is flattened in order to impart rigidity thereto, while the transverse sectional dimensions of the beard I4 are reduced as compared to that of the shank portion I Ia, as shown in Fig. 1A. Thus, the beard is flexed more readily in relation to the shank when the beard is moved to its closed position at the press. It is noted that while the flexure of the beard with respect to the shank takes place from the head I5, the structure of the head inherently introduces a factor of rigidity which modifies the flexure characteristic of the beard with respect to the shank.

In accordance with the instant invention, the needle structure is modified to locate flexure points and to control the flexure characteristic of selected needle portions, in order to eliminate the disadvantages of the conventional spring beard knitting needle.

As shown in Fig. 2, the needle comprises shank portion Ila, which is grooved at 23 and has a spring beard I4 extending from bent head 25. The beard is adapted to be flexed toward the shank portion as previously described. The flexure characteristic of the beard relative to the shank is determined and controlled by forming the beard in a selected zon of limited longitudinal extent adjacent head 25, of reduced transverse sectional dimensions, as at 28. Zone 28 may be formed by swaging the metal of the beard to form a pair of section portions 29 which uniformly taper toward each other to provide a neck 30 which is of smaller diameter than the diameter of the beard portions on either side of zone 28.

It will be apparent that the beard I 4 is now adapted to fiex from longitudinally constricted zone 28 and that the fiexure characteristic thereof may be suitably controlled by proportioning the sectional dimensions of the beard within the area of flexure. By providing a flexure point as described, there is no need for undercutting or milling the head to attain a desired flexure characteristic, thus eliminating the disadvantags of a weakened area at a critical structural portion of the needle.

Additionally, the flexure characteristic of the shank Ila may be similarly modified by forming a zone of reduced sectional dimensions as at 28, at a point adjacent head 25, such a zone being substantially similar to and disposed substantially opposite zone 28.

In the case of needles designed for use in full fashioned hosiery knitting machine, it may be preferable to form the needle with a reduced section on the beard only, whereas needles for a warp knitting machine may be formed with a reduced section on the shank thereof, since the pressing function is performed exclusively by the presser edge in such machine. If desired the needle may be formed with zones of reduced section on both beard and shank, such zones being designed to coact and produce a desired flexure characteristic of the beard relative to the shank.

The zone of reduced section on the needle beard, shank, or both, may be formed by removing sufiicient material from one surface at a point located adjacent the needle head. This may be accomplished by a milling operation, which may be performed on the outer surfaces of the beard and/or the shank, as at 38, 38', as shown in Fig. 3, or on the inner surfaces as at 38a, 381), as shown in Fig. 4.

The reduction of the section of the beard and/or the shank, at the desired points may also be accomplished by means of a pressing or flattening operation. The flattened surfaces may be on the outer portions of the beard and/or the shank, as at 8, 48, as shown in Fig. 5; or may be on the inner surfaces, as at 58, 58, as shown in Fig. 6. Alternatively, the sections may be reduced by flattening the beard and/or the shank on both surfaces, as at 68, as shown in Fig. '7.

It will be noted that in the case of the formation of reduced sections by a pressing or flattening operation, the pressed material will spread laterally to provide oppositely disposed projections having surfaces lying in a common plane, as indicated at 49, 59 and 69, respectively in Figs. 8, 9 and 10. Such deformation at the reduced section has the effect of stabilizing the fiexure of the beard and/or the shank, inasmuch as the flexing action becomes similar to that of a flat spring, thus insuring unidirectional rnovement of the beard towards the groove in the shank. Accordingly any possibility of side fiexure of the beard is largely eliminated and beard breakage is avoided.

It will thus be seen that there provided knitting needles in which the several objects of the invention are achieved, and which are well adapted to meet conditions of practical use.

As various possible embodiments might be made of the above described invention, and as various changes might be made in the embodiments above set forth, it is understood that all matter herein set forth or shown in the accompanying drawing, is to be interpreted illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to protect by Letters Patent:

1. A knitting needle comprising a shank and spring beard extending from a bent head, said shank including a portion formed with a groove to receive said spring beard upon flexure thereof, said spring beard being formed with a reduced transverse section adjacent said head and remote from said groove for controlling the direction of movement thereof upon fiexure thereof.

2. A knitting needle comprising a shank portion and a spring beard portion extending from a bent head, said beard portion being formed with a reduced section in a zone of limited longitudinal extent adjacent said head, said reduced section including a pair of portions tapering toward each other.

3. A knitting needle comprising a shank and a spring beard extending from a bent head, said beard including a transverse section forming a flexure point, said section having a thickness less than the thickness of portions of said beard closely adjacent each other and on opposite sides of said section.

4. A knitting needle comprising a shank and a spring beard extending from a bent head, said beard being formed with a short flattened section having laterally projecting edge portions.

5. A knitting needle comprising a shank and a 6 spring beard extending from a bent head, said beard including a crimp, said beard being formed with a zone of reduced transverse section located adjacent said head and remote from said crimp.

PETER J. SCHOENSTER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

